WHITEMARSH — If the William Jeanes Memorial Library had a basketball team, volunteer Linda Doll would be one of its head cheerleaders.

As it stands, there are no hoops being played at the library. Basketball is one of the few services the library doesn’t offer. But that doesn’t mean Doll isn’t rah-rahing at the top of her lungs about the library’s attributes.

In June 2010, the library in Lafayette Hill broke ground on a building renovation and expansion project that enabled it to add 7,000 square feet to the existing 11,000 square feet and to replace all the major components of the existing structure.

The “bricks and mortar” part of the project was made possible by a $4.4 million gift from locals Nicholas and Athena Karabots and the Karabots Foundation. But money for furniture, equipment, landscape improvements and other amenities are being funded through contributions to the library’s ongoing capital campaign, which has set a goal of raising $650,000 by year’s end.

Advertisement

“What makes the library so important is that it’s local, everybody can see it,” said Doll, who has lived in Whitemarsh Township for the past 30 years and been a library volunteer for many of those years. “You can drive by there any time and the parking lot is packed. You go in, it’s beautiful inside. People are using computers, checking out books, using the community rooms. You actually get to see your money at work.

“There’s not one person in this community that couldn’t benefit from some programming at the library,” she said.

According to library Director Lara Lorenzi, the library has raised $497,799 of the goal. Library officials said they hope a final push late in the year will help get the library closer to the $650,000 goal.

“These funds raised have nothing to do with the operational funding of the library,” said Lorenzi. “It’s for everything that goes inside the building — all the bookshelves, furniture, computer equipment, photo copiers, audio-visual equipment.”

State funding for the library was slashed three years ago by about one-third, but has remained level since then. Lorenzi added that has nothing to do with the capital campaign. State funding helps supplement the library’s operating expenses: 75 percent of operating funds come from Whitemarsh Township, of which the majority (75 percent of that) comes from dedicated tax millage. All told, this amounts to $26 per person annually.

With this late appeal, the library raised $9,400 in November alone and hopes that contributions continue to come in through December.

“We understand that everybody is dealing with the economy. It’s taking a long time and people are spending money in other ways,” said Lorenzi. “But when the economy goes down, we get a lot more traffic.”

For example, Jeanes is still a traditional library in that visitors can check out books, DVDs and video games, and it’s a place to go to read newspapers and magazines. But it’s also a meeting place for community members, where they can find Internet access and use the printers and scanners.

Part of the original goal of the capital campaign was to raise funds to set aside for the library’s endowment, but it looks like the goal will come up a little short in that regard, Lorenzi said. She added that library officials are concentrating on covering the costs of the furniture, fixtures and equipment — not that that would quell the continued encouragement to the community from Doll to support what she considers to be an invaluable community resource.

“I guess I’m from the generation where the community is your lifeline and you need to get involved with everything to know what’s going on,” said Doll. “If your kids see how important is to you, it becomes important to them. And they get a vested interest in where they live.

“I just wish more people realized what a jewel we have in this library,” she said. “Not every community, every township, has its own library, and has one that is so great.”

For more information about the library or to make a capital contribution, visit the library’s website at www.jeaneslibrary.org or call the library at 610-828-0441.